Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

dose anyone know where to get a good cheap solar powered air pump
just want a little bit more oxygen in the water for summer thanks

Try this thread

http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=5632

I'd say forget the idea of solar.

Agreed for a stand-alone device, but think of grid-connected solar instead...

any brands i should look for with solar + grid or grid + battery air pumps

deegsta, for grid-connected solar pv system, I reckon Suntech panels and SMA Sunnyboy inverters are the go. Do some research yourself, but I have recently signed up for a system to be installed at my home which I believe I got a good deal. If you are interested, I can provide you with the contact details. PM me.

Battery backed air pumps, contact Backyard Aquaponics (PM Earthbound).

Ive had a grid connected solar system for a couple of years now, and at the figures I get I will see a return on this investment in 150 yrs, wish I had of known about AP then I would have been better off investing my money in a BYAP system, If someone else has had success with a grid connection system I would like to hear about it, ie size of system to amount of power drawn from house, how many people living in the house etc, mine is all quality panels and inverter, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but what can I say. I agree with EB

I have a 1kw system at my home. Last power bill was $38.75. We are not big power users - average 12 units per day - 4 x 2 house with 4 people, gas hws, electric oven, gas stove top.

What is helping us at the moment is the 40c per kw hr feed into the grid. As no one is really home during the day most of the power goes out to the grid so we get paid for it (our bill is reduced).

Even then it is going to take 12 years to pay off our out of pocket expenses for the system. I would expect some return if we sold our house.

Solar still interest me as I have a country block which I am told will require about $100k+ to get power to. I would rather put in solar/wind with generator backup.

Also, the decision for me to go solar was not always about reducing our bill, part of it was about going green - one of the reasons I am setting up AP.

mine is 1kw in 3x2 cottage block, I had the 2.5 kw inverter installed for expansion I save about $5 on my last bill of $400 with the new tarif it is only me and my wife and 1x 7r old daughter, I went low wattage on everything in this house and still can't get it to work, I've had the installers back several times and synergy, I went from 10-15 units a day before the system was installed to 20-25units a day after, they say my old meter was faulty, It's made me extremely sceptical now

I am selling this house It hasn't helped the price, I am still curious coz I am in 2 minds as to whether or not I get a system in the next house, I did get a solar hot water system installed at the same time and that has nearly payed for itself already

I wish I had gone the larger inverter - I have the SB1100.

We have energy efficient light bulbs throughout. One thing my (step) daughter has got everyone into the habit of is turning everything off at the wall if it is not in use. The only powerpoints which are left on 24x7 are 2 x fridge, 1 x fish tank, 1 x microwave, 1 x cordless phone + internet router (and soon to be 1 x AP setup)

How many kw hrs a day does your system produce?

we have tried turning everything off, even shut the whole house down except the solar when we went away to Europe for a month, and no difference, I cant remember the daily production as I haven't looked at the thing in ages (angers me too much) but the installers when I got them back said It is one of the highest producing units they have seen. We do have a spa and 2 fridges, but even when we shut the spa down for a year, no difference, I have put the power consumption meter I got told to buy on everything, the only thing that is using a significant amount of power is our main fridge, which I have a replacement for in storage for our new house, It won't fit in this house. You are in the Brook, will have to catch up sometime and chat about it, I hope this thread hijacking has some useful info though, good to hear 2 sides of a story relating to solar.

Well pjenkyn, for starters, I cannot be really sure about this because no one I know at present can confirm this, but what I know is that the system only exports the excess power. So if your household is happily using power during the day, you will export very little power. Based on rough calculations, your household probably uses about 33 units a day... a 1kW system produces roughly 5 units a day... so don't expect to be saving heaps...

One thing to check is that you are getting signed up for the correct tariff rebates... I have heard of people not signed up correctly and hence not getting the full rebates... Do you know if you are signed up for the government 40cents per kWh rebate?? Worth checking...

I have been advice that the best way to get the most out of your system is to use as little power in the day and use more power in the night... why? For every unit you export in the day, you get paid 47cents (currently), but in the night you only pay 20cents for that same unit. In short, in the night you can buy back two units for one unit you export in the day... So dishwasher, washing machine, etc etc ... run them in the night... or before the sun comes up...

Get yourself an ENVI R energy monitor...

ivansng - You are correct:

- only excess power is exported so if you system only produces 5 units during the day and you use 6 you wont export any.

- by using as little power as possible during the day you will export more. By doing your washing etc at night you will use the same amount of power, but when you are receiving 40c for kw hr during the day, your bill will be reduced.

pjenkyn, not sure about the tarriff/rebates but I would check your last power bill to see what your are getting paid for the power you export. I will check mine tonight and let you know. I will also see if I can find the information about who to contact about it. Although it may be a mute point if you have sold/or are selling your house.

yeah I have signed up for the 40c /kw thingy, unfortunately at the moment while my house is on the market I have to have everything up and running to show it is working, my next house wont have a spa, I am looking into a 2.5kw system or bigger if I can afford it, I am looking to see if there are people out there that aren't sales people that have had genuine savings out of it. Electricity is my only bill that I haven't beaten yet, my gas and water I have saved thousands on in just a few years, I am currently looking at an appliance called bluegen, you can provide your own power using gas, It is robbing Peter to pay Paul but It has been reviewed as a more reliable alternative, but still in early stages, it may have a better outcome and return